


The Light's Downfall

by SilverDragonMS



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dealing With Loss, Depression, Downfall Four, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Let me know if I need to change the tags, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Loss, Minor Character Death, Recovery from trauma, Trauma, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:14:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26480224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverDragonMS/pseuds/SilverDragonMS
Summary: “I grow tired of this game,” Vaati sighed, summoning pitch-black magic into his palm, “Goodbye, Hero of the Four Sword.”Link watched the spell get closer, raising his blade as though to parry it back at the mage, and with a swing, all he felt was agony. Pain filled his mind, screams tore from his throat until the world finally faded away to black.
Relationships: Four & Downfall Four, Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Vio Link & Green Link & Red Link & Blue Link
Comments: 14
Kudos: 49





	The Light's Downfall

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Answers for the Fallen](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22703296) by [xcyfiawnderx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xcyfiawnderx/pseuds/xcyfiawnderx). 



The air was nearly suffocating, oppressively heavy as Link made his way up the staircase to the room above, his body still bruised and bloody from the Guardians’ onslaught. The end was in sight, Vaati was within reach, and then this would all be over. He could finally go back to how his life was before this happened. Link could feel his heart beating frantically in his chest as the platform came into view. The wind mage, standing with his arms raised in front of the petrified form of Zelda, smiled as the bell tolled a final time.

“We’re too late,” Link could hear Ezlo’s despair, his own heart stuttering in response to those words.

He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, knuckles white and shaking. He refused to give up here. He charged at Vaati, Four Sword raised with the intent to kill, only to be blown back into the wall. Vaati laughed, newfound power easily lifting him into the air, as Link was forced to watch his childhood friend crumbled where she had been.

“Now, I can finally dispose of you annoying pests!”

A burst of magic flew towards him, Ezlo squawking loudly as Link rolled out of the way before it made contact. Link glared at the mage, anger and barely contained fear causing him to shake.

“Vaati,” Ezlo’s voice shook, “Please, see reason. This isn’t you, you need to stop this.”

“No, it’s been too long since I’ve felt truly powerful, too long since I discovered what I could truly become. And you, dear teacher, were merely a stepping stone in my path to become who I truly am.”

Vaati’s form wavered, dark magic surrounding him on all sides, obscuring him from view. Link stood on shaky legs, using his sword to support his weight as Ezlo whispered reassurances, though it was obvious that he was just as scared as Link was. 

They had lost, there was nothing left for them to do but to wait for the inevitable, but something inside him forced him to keep going, to keep fighting. And as Vaati appeared again, bathed in a glowing purple light, eyes now bright yellow against a shadowed face, magic gathering at his fingertips, Link charged once again. He cried out, in pain and anger as he aimed for Vaati, sword slashing through the air instead of the body of the smug Wind Mage. 

“Link, look out!”

He barely registered the weight leaving his head, barely felt the corrupted magic brush at his back. He turned, just in time to witness Ezlo jumping in front of the shot that was meant for him. His breath wavered, watching as his companion screamed in agony, the sound echoing, piercing through his mind, then stopped, falling limp to the floor. 

He fell to his knees, reaching out towards his partner, his  _ friend _ , faint hope that the other was still alive despite the wounds he had suffered. But before he could so much as call out to him, Ezlo crumbled into dust before him, taking what little confidence and hope Link still had with him. 

“Such a shame,” Vaati spoke, Link only managing to look up at the slowly approaching mage, “His fate was his own decision, he chose to save you above saving himself. Pitiful really, his sacrifice won’t make a difference.”

Link leaned heavily on the sword still in his grasp, standing once again to face down Vaati, eyes bright with rage and determination. 

“This is just sad, you think you can still fight me? Stupid boy, you’ve lost! You’ve doomed your entire kingdom!” Vaati spread his arms, face twisting in malicious glee, “Look around you! I’ve won! There’s nothing left for you now! So just die!”

He blocked the spell hurtling towards him with his blade, it bursting against the holy weapon upon impact. Link refused to give in, he wouldn’t give up without a fight, not after everything he had gone through, everything he had suffered through just to get to this point.

Vaati grew angered, eyes glowing, piercingly bright as the air crackling around him, fingers growing into sharp claws in response. He rushed at Link, slashing at him over and over, each blow being blocked by sword and shield as they backed closer and closer to the edge of the platform. 

Link kept his eyes on the mage, staying on the defensive to avoid the corrupted magic from hitting him dead on. Until his foot hit the open air. With a gasp, he fell back, grasping for the edge of the platform desperately as he saw Vaati standing above him, smiling gleefully.

“Seems I’ve won, little hero.”

Link growled, pulling himself up and kicking at Vaati, the mage laughing as he stepped away. Link held out his sword, panting and hoping that he could gather enough strength to finally finish him off. If only it were that easy.

“I grow tired of this game,” Vaati sighed, summoning pitch-black magic into his palm, “Goodbye, Hero of the Four Sword.”

Link watched the spell get closer, raising his blade as though to parry it back at the mage, and with a swing, all he felt was agony. Pain filled his mind, screams tore from his throat until the world finally faded away to black.

* * *

He could feel the surface below him, cold and hard and uncomfortable. He could hear the familiar calls of birds in the distance, their songs calming and grounding as they continued. He moved his hand, grasping at whatever was underneath him, only to feel coarse dirt below him. 

_ ‘Wait, dirt?’ _

He sat up quickly, eyes snapping open to see a stone wall before him. He was in a cave, at least, he assumed it was a cave with how light drifted in through the tall opening at one side. The birdsong was clear, but as the noise caught up to him, quiet breaths began to reach his ears. The cave was small, shallow, and it seemed that he wasn’t alone here.

“Oh, you’re finally up,” he turned to see a boy dressed in a fiery red tunic, a small almost grin on his face, “I was wondering when you’d join the land of the living.”

He flinched at the word choice, the grimace on the other’s face betraying his actual feelings about the joke. He slowly stood up, taking in his surroundings more to see two other boys leaning against the cave wall. One dressed in ocean blue was looking around lost, eyes unfocused, and staring off into space. The other donning an amethyst tunic had his arms holding his legs close to his chest, face hidden where it was pressed against his knees. He had a feeling they looked the same as he and the red one did like the copies Link could create with the Four Sword.

“What happened?”

“I had an idea, but I don’t know if it makes sense,” the red one spoke, shrugging, “I think Vaati’s magic did something to the Four Sword. We all have identical looking blades now, besides our faces anyway, so it only makes sense.”

“So we’re all Link… that's confusing.”

The red boy laughed, though it sounded unsure, falling and fading quickly.

“I figured, based on the elements we put into the sword anyway, that I’d use the name Blaze,” he gestured to the other two, “the blue one chose Wave while purple over there called himself Terra. He hasn’t spoken since then.”

Worry bloomed in his mind, but it wasn’t the time to deal with that, not yet. Shaking his head, he looked down at himself expecting some sort of appearance change like the other three, only to find nothing. Just the same green tunic he had started the adventure with, dirty and slightly torn up from the fights he had been in. He recalled the elemental stones that he had forged the blade with and it was really quite obvious what name he should choose.

“Call me Breeze.”

With that decided, Breeze motioned for Blaze to follow, trying to figure out just where they were. All that was visible from the front of the cave were trees, tall enough to block most of the sky from view. The clearing was small, but not claustrophobic. Blaze had rushed ahead, looking around quickly until he stopped and turned back, gesturing to the forest around them.

“Let’s try and climb up, maybe we can see further, figure out where exactly we are.”

It was a good idea, and they had been lucky, the trees, while tall, were easy enough to climb. Each branch pulling the two boys up and up, further and further away from the ground. When they had reached the top, gazing at the land around them, all went still, the sounds of nature around them stopping as the two boys took in the sight ahead of them.

They could see Hyrule Town, their home, surrounded by a dark cloud stretching far across the land. The Minish Woods were consumed and not even the peak of Mt. Crenel was visible through it. It was as though all Light had been stripped of the land they had called home, the people they had known, those he had befriended and loved, lost in the darkness. There was nothing left now. Vaati had won.

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this fic was from TimeTurner-Jay, which then became a fic because of the weekly prompt on the LU Discord server. Cy was also a big inspiration because of "Answers for the Fallen", which is about the Link that started the downfall timeline that leads to Legend and Hyrule's era. I'm committed to this longfic now.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this fic, and please let me know if I need to tag anything. I really don't want to upset or trigger anyone accidentally. With that being said, expect this fic to get dark. All comments and kudos are appreciated. ^u^
> 
> My Tumblr-s and Twitter, follow me for inconsistent posting, and the occasional sneak peek of fics I'm writing:  
> https://silverdragonms.tumblr.com/  
> https://silverdragon-imagines-blog.tumblr.com/  
> https://twitter.com/SilverDragonMS


End file.
